The invention relates to a method of integrating a component into an information system of a vehicle, in which at least one application executable or provided by the component is made available to a user of the vehicle by a man-machine interface of the information system. The invention also relates to a computer program product as well as to an information system in a vehicle.
A retrofitting or a connection of components, as, for example, a telephone, an MP3 player, etc., in a vehicle is oftentimes difficult to implement because of a lack of technical preparation. Here, the problem arises concerning the operation of these temporarily or permanently retrofitted components. In particular, for reasons of ergonomics and driving safety, an operation of the retrofitted components by input and output devices present in the means of transport makes sense. As input devices, function keys, touch screens, mouse devices etc. are frequently available in a vehicle for the haptic operation, and microphones are available for the voice input. Graphic indications, such as displays, lights, etc. or voice output by way of microphones are used for the output.
For the operation in the vehicle, increasingly also so-called information systems with multifunction operating units are increasingly available, which offer a maximal amount of flexibility by use of graphic displays as output devices and the pertaining operating elements as input devices. Driving safety demands a strict schematization of the information system that can be operated by the driver without great diversion. This schematization is expressed by a defining of the input/output rules for these multifunction operating units. Thus, it may be stipulated in these rules that, for example, starting at a certain speed, no haptic operation should take place or that a display should indicate information only in a minimum letter size.
In the case of retrofitted components, it is difficult to provide a maximum of operability with a simultaneously strict schematization because neither the extent and type of the functionality or the interaction demands of the components to be operated can be predicted, nor are the information systems standardized relative to all vehicle equipment, all lines of production or covering all makes of all vehicles.
From German Patent document DE 101 34 717 A1, a method is known for configuring an information system in a means of transport. In the case of this method, the integration of retrofitted components as well as input/output devices takes place automatically and in a manner adapted to the input/output rules of the information system. Within the scope of this method, when connecting an additional component to the information system, a component input/output rule is transmitted by way of an interface to the information system. The component input/output rule is integrated by the information system into the input/output unit and the input/output processes such that the component can be controlled by way of the information system.
Input/output processes are all communications and interaction processes between the output devices, the input devices, the information system and/or the component. The set of input/output rules contains information concerning the version, the selection possibilities, the expansion possibilities, the type and manner of operation as well as the available input and output devices and the possible integration and interaction processes for the information system. In the component input/output rule, it is stipulated that a corresponding assignment is to be used for a type of component input/output rule already stored in the information system.
In this manner, it is taken into account in the known method which menu tree is already present, whether voice input or output is possible or whether a graphic display is present and function keys are available. By way of the input/output rules, further conditions can be defined in that it is indicated that the maximal number of displayable entries in a graphic display should not exceed a certain value. By use of the rules, it can, for example, also be indicated that, although function keys are available on the input device, only voice operation is permitted.
The method described in German Patent document DE 101 34 717 A1 permits the integration of a component into an information system of a vehicle in which the operation of the information system by the driver can take place without any great diversion by way of the input/output devices available in the vehicle. In this case, the operation takes place while taking into account safety-related aspects, so that, during the drive in the vehicle, certain functions of the component may not be available under certain circumstances, while the latter can be operated and used during the drive.
It is an object of the present invention to indicate a method of integrating a component into an information system of a vehicle, which permits an improved integration of the component into the function sequences of the information system. It is a further object of the present invention to indicate a corresponding computer program product as well as an information system in a vehicle, which permit the further improved integration of the component into the information system.
The invention provides a method of integrating a component into an information system of a vehicle, in which at least one application executable or provided by the component is made available to a user of the vehicle by a man-machine interface of the information system. In the case of this method, the integration of the component into the information system with respect to the input and/or output of information is carried out in a personalized manner in regard to a user of the component.
In the case of the method according to the invention, it is possible for a user to integrate the component with respect to the operation into the information system. The user can carry out the integration according to his wishes and needs, so that the component with the applications running on it can be used by him in the best possible manner. Because of the fact that the user integrates the component with the applications executable or provided thereon in a manner known to him into the information system, his attention is not diverted during the operation while he is driving the motor vehicle. This results in an improvement of traffic safety.
In this case, it is advantageous for a respective application of the component to be personalized with respect to its operation.
In particular, the personalization takes place within the scope of the integration of the component by way of the man-machine interface or a computer that can be connected with the latter.
According to an advantageous further development, the information system has an especially tree-type menu structure which comprises a number of menus selectable by way of the man-machine interface, in which case it is defined by way of the man-machine interface to which of the menus the at least one application executable or provided by the component is assigned for the selection. This permits the use of an existing menu structure of the information system, in which case the user can freely select at which point in the menu structure he wants to carry out the operation of the component or of the application that can be executed or is provided on the latter. Operating sequences can thereby be simplified.
By use of the man-machine interface, all communications and interaction processes between the user of the information system and the vehicle are carried out by way of input and output devices available in the vehicle. The execution of the application is not only the running of the application but especially also its operation, for example, by way of various, possibly nested menus or voice input instructions.
As an alternative, the personalization takes place before the integration of the component by use of the component itself or a computer. Particularly in the case of the last variant, it is possible for the user to not carry out the personalization by way of the operating devices (man-machine interface) available in the vehicle. The user can, for example, carry out the personalization at his computer or laptop and transmit the personalization information to the component to be integrated into the vehicle or to the information system, whereby the integration process into the vehicle will be simplified for the user.
Within the scope of the personalization of the operation, for example, an occupancy of input and/or output devices (for example, a key occupancy of keys or softkeys) of the main-machine interface, of bookmarks and of voice instructions is defined.
It is further advantageous for a respective application of the component to be assigned according to a preset criterion to a predefined menu of the menus of the menu structure. The assignment according to predefined criteria can take place, for example, according to logical aspects. A predefined criterion may, for example, be a category. If an application executed or provided by the component concerns, for example, a service for the navigation or a service connected therewith, according to this variant, the latter is advantageously provided in the menu structure in the “Navigation” domain.
According to a further advantageous development, when integrating the component into the information system, for a respective application, one or more parameters are determined which represent the input and/or output of information of a respective application of the component by way of the information system. By means of the parameters, as a result of the information system, an integration of an application of the component can take place into the menu structure of the man-machine interface. Such parameters may, for example, comprise a main category (for example, navigation, entertainment, telephone, office, air-conditioning, etc.) as well as one or more subcategories that are independent thereof (such as radio, CD, MP3 player; telephone book, last selected calling number; new navigation destination, last stored navigation destinations, etc.). The parameters are therefore used for the technical integration of the input and/or output structures of the components into the information system.
The parameters are advantageously determined during the first-time integration of the component into the information system and are stored in a memory. The storage may, for example, take place in a memory of the information system of the vehicle or in a memory of the component or in another memory, particularly a central databank. In the case of each subsequent connection of the component to the information system, the parameters will be read out of the memory and used for its integration. If the parameters are stored in a memory of the component or in a central memory, they will be available in a plurality of vehicles. The components can therefore be used in a simple manner in a plurality of vehicles, which permit a linking of the component. In this case, the corresponding parameters have to be determined and stored only once. When the component is connected with the information system of the vehicle, the parameters will be transmitted to the information system for further processing.
According to an advantageous further development, at the start of an application of the component connected to the information system, at least one priority value is assigned to the application with respect to the man-machine interface, the priority value indicating a rank by which the application of the component is treated with a higher or lower priority with respect to a further application that is being executed or is to be executed by the information system.
By the assignment of a priority value to the application with respect to the man-machine interface, the application executed or provided by the component can be integrated into a priority management of the man-machine interface of the vehicle. In this manner, it is ensured that important information, such as status messages of the vehicle relating to the operating condition, will not be hidden, masked or, in the case of an acoustic output, interrupted by the application of the component. By use of the priority value, the “importance” of the application in relation to other applications executed by the information system can be defined in a simple manner, whereby the target-oriented function of the information system is not impaired.
According to a further advantageous development, a message is transmitted to the information system at the start of the application of the component, in which message the resources of the man-machine interface required by the application for its execution are described, a respective priority value being assigned to one or more of the required resources of the man-machine interface. Resources are generally all devices for the output of information, particularly of audio or video data, as well as all input devices. Resources are therefore, for example, loudspeakers, displays and the like. In this manner, it is defined which priority value the application has when using a certain resource of the man-machine application with respect to other applications that are being executed or are to be executed by the information system. It can therefore be ensured with a high probability that the application executed or provided by the component will not disadvantageously influence the vehicle's own priority management of the man-machine interface.
According to a further advantageous development, the priority value is dynamically changed as a function of a vehicle parameter. Such vehicle parameters may, for example, be the vehicle speed, in which case, when a predefined speed is exceeded, information on an output device is hidden in order to ensure driving safety. It can hereby also be controlled whether or not a menu for operating the application is still permitted to be displayed as a function of the vehicle parameter.
Advantageously, one or more of the following devices are integrated as a component into the information system of the vehicle: An audio player, particularly a portable CD player, an MP3 player or web (radio) player or video player, particularly a portable DVD player, TV player, or video camera.
A further development provides that, in the case of an application of the component executed by the information system and a not target-oriented separation of the component from the information system, a treatment of the application termination takes place according to which:
the application is indicated as no longer being available, or
the application is removed from the information system, or
data intermediately stored in the information system continue to be processed beyond the application termination for a predefined time period, or
data only partially transmitted to the information system by the application are reloaded or completed, or
a prediction of the connection termination takes place.
With this development variant, it is ensured that, in the event of a not target-oriented separation of the component from the information system, neither the application, nor the information system can be damaged with respect to the software running thereon. As a result, the target-oriented function of the information system can be ensured.
According to a further advantageous development, data, such as, images and texts, in particular, used regularly during the start of the application for the output of information by way of the man-machine interface are transmitted into a memory of the information system, in which case the data, if they are needed during the execution of the application, are loaded from the memory of the information system. This can improve the reactivity of the application. Furthermore, the danger of diversion during the drive is reduced. In order to be able to organize the regularly used data provided in the memory of the information system, each piece of data (text component or icon) can be provided with an unambiguous ID by which the respective data can be called and processed. Furthermore, translations may be provided in the memory for texts or text components, which translation will be used in the vehicle depending on the language adjustment.
In a further development of the invention, a partial area of a display surface is made available to the application of the component for the visual output of information by way of a display of the man-machine interface, another partial area remaining under the control of the information system. According to a special variant of the execution, the information intended for the output is generated in the partial area available to the application by the application executed on the component. According to an alternative execution variant, the information intended for the output is generated in the partial area available to the application by the information system under the control of the application. In the former case, only the display of the man-machine interface is used by the application for the output of information, while the computing-intensive steps for the so-called rendering of the images are executed by the component on which the application is running. Therefore, only the display of the man-machine interface is used for the output. In contrast, in the latter case, the generating of the information to be displayed takes place by a computer unit of the information system itself, the data required for the visualization being provided by the application of the component.
A further development provides that the application accesses at least one vehicle-specific parameter by way of a defined programming interface, or the at least one vehicle-specific parameter is provided to the application by way of the defined programming interface, and the application processes the at least one parameter that was made available. In this case, it may particularly be provided that the at least one vehicle-specific parameter represents a current driving situation of the vehicle, a vehicle condition, and/or takes into account a current location of the vehicle. In particular, as a result of the application of the component, the position of the vehicle, its speed, a tank content, a language or a tuned-in radio station can be taken into account and processed. Especially, so-called location-based services can thereby be offered by way of the application.
The invention further comprises a computer program product, which can be loaded directly into the internal memory of a digital computer of a vehicle and includes software code sections by which the steps of the described process can be executed when the product is running on the computer.
The invention further creates an information system in a vehicle, which can be operated by way of a man-machine interface and provides information to a user of the vehicle, in which case at least one application executable or provided by a component can be integrated into the information system. According to the invention, the information system has devices by which the integration of the component into the information system with respect to the input and/or output of information can be carried out in a personalized manner with respect to a user of the component.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of one or more preferred embodiments when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.